


don't leaf me hanging

by Anomiac



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Business, Business AU, CEO Carmilla, CEO Laura, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, Phone Sex, Sappy Carmilla
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-08-17 15:48:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16519415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anomiac/pseuds/Anomiac
Summary: A hard-working CEO finds herself constantly distracted by the beautiful view from her office window.Hollstein Business AU(Posted on Wattpad under the same name.)





	1. Kiss me through the phone

**Author's Note:**

> Hey I hope you like this. It's based off of this one-shot that I did. The last one-shot in my 'Someday I'm gonna be with you' collection. I finally got back into writing after about four or five months, so I might be a bit rusty.

It starts when Carmilla first walks into her new office. She's CEO of Lophii, Inc., taking after her brother after he decided to retire early and move to Canada to live comfortably with his boyfriend. She doesn't hate the idea of taking over the company, seeing as she's not entirely new to the idea of being CEO, but it isn't exactly the top thing on her list of things she wants to do before she dies.

But, then she looks out the window and takes in the view... and she thinks maybe--just maybe--this job won't suck the fun out of life after all.

\--

Carmilla has the same pattern every day. Wake up, get dressed, get coffee, go to work, try to ignore the cute blonde that's sat at her desk in her office in the Boom, Inc. building across the street, get no work done, then go home. Boom. Easy. She's yet to learn her name, or even research her to see who the CEO of Boom Inc. is beyond what she's already seen from her... which is admittedly quite a lot.

Today, the woman decides to look up. Maybe she saw something out of the corner of her eye, or maybe she finally realized there is an actual wall of floor to ceiling windows that allows her to see out into the world, and for the world to see into her office.

Whatever it is, she looks up and she sees Carmilla sitting at her desk, raising her coffee cup to her lips and pausing midway when she sees the blonde looking at her.

She raises her cup up and nods her head. The business woman's salute. The other woman gives her a small smile and raises the cupcake in her hand before taking a bite of pure icing.

Carmilla laughs and shakes her head, covering her smile with her cup. And that's the extent of their interaction for that day, not counting a few more glances in the blonde's direction.

The next day, Carmilla watches her neighbor lean over her desk as she writes something with a thick black marker. She tries her best not to let her gaze drift to her legs and lower back. That wouldn't be appropriate... would it?

But then the blonde is standing straight and turning toward the window with the paper in her hand.

**Hi, I'm Laura Hollis.**

She remembers reading that name somewhere. A young CEO with a bright future. That's what they always say, though, isn't it? Carmilla muses, standing and grabbing a marker of her own and a sheet of paper. The amount of time she spends on hers is probably twice as long as Laura did.

**Carmilla Karnstein. Guess I'm your neighbor, Cupcake.**

Laura blushes and scribbles on another piece of paper, her eyebrows creasing adorably just above the bridge of her nose. The paper is shoved against the glass.

**I literally just told you my name! It's not 'Cupcake'**

The brunette only shrugs and gets back to her paperwork with a smirk when she sees Laura huff and sit back at her own desk.

Laura Hollis...

It goes like that for a while. Carmilla gets even more distracted during meetings every time she sees Laura sitting idle in her office doing her paperwork. One time, she actually manages to slip up and accidentally loses a client because she was too busy watching Laura talk on the phone, leaning back into the back of her black leather chair and letting her head loll to the side lazily.

She gets revenge a few days later by making funny faces at her while she's talking with a client, and Laura is so adorably angry that she can't resist the solid ten minutes of laughter after the clients storm out of the room, and Laura can't seem to help her laughter either.

She wouldn't call it a crush... That's exactly what it is, but she wouldn't call it that.

Later, after the incident with their clients, she receives another old-fashion message from a certain smiling blonde.

**You're unprofessional.**

The brunette wishes Laura could hear her scoff, but she supposes seeing it will have to be enough.

**You're one to talk, Cupcake.**

Her message seems to confuse Laura, but Carmilla only laughs again and takes the sheet down, scribbling her number onto the back and holding it back up for Laura to see. This is about to get interesting.

Soon her phone buzzes with a text.

**Laura** _: What do you mean, unprofessional? you're the one making faces during a meeting!_

**Carmilla** _: Let's just say I had a good view from my office._

**Laura** _: You don't mean..._

**Carmilla** _: Oh, but I do. You're lucky nobody else saw._

**Laura** _: How long?!_

**Carmilla** _: I was in this office for a week before you noticed._

Suddenly, her phone starts ringing with the generic unknown caller ringtone. She answers and brings it up to her ear easily, and answers smoothly with a smile.

"Hello?"

"You've been spying on me!?" It's her first time hearing Laura, but there's no way she could have expected the raspy edge to Laura's voice when she's incredulous, or how her pitch changes with how angry she is. It would be embarrassing to admit that it kind of turns her on.

"I tried to tell you, but..." She trails off while Laura keeps talking in the background. She can see her pacing around her office like a maniac. Biting her lip doesn't stop her smile from breaking past her indifferent mask.

"Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening..."

"Calm down, Cupcake, it's only natural. We have stressful jobs, and sometimes that stress needs to be... relieved."

"But- You saw, and that's-"

"I didn't mind." She shrugs, knowing that Laura can see her if she looks out the window. Out of the corner of her eye, she stops pacing abruptly, and her tone is soft and wary when she starts speaking again.

"Did you watch..?"

Carmilla is silent, and Laura finally looks up to see Carmilla's silent smirk and raised eyebrow.

"Carmilla!!"

"Relax. I never watched. For too long. If that's something you're interested, though... that can be arranged. Maybe I can even... assist?"

In her office, the blonde looks flustered for a moment. Her mouth opens and closes like she can't find the words to answer to that, but eventually she just hangs up and goes back to work. Staunchly keeping her head down and staying focused on her paperwork, even as Carmilla eyes her from the other side of the street.

The brunette finds herself smiling as she remembers the day she first moved into the new office, almost a month ago by now. The beautiful blonde was sitting at her desk with her legs spread, her hand moving quickly back and forth. Her head was thrown back against her chair, her mouth open in some kind of drawn out moan as she- that's all she let herself see before turning around and spending the next half hour in the bathroom, relieving her own stress.

Every time she saw the CEO doing her usual routine Carmilla would get up and leave, but she'd silently wish that she had Laura's consent to watch. She supposes it's just another one of those things that are consistently out of her reach.

Carmilla sighs in resignation and gets back to work, not noticing the curious look the blonde is sending her from her office in the building across the street.

 

\--

 

On one particularly humid day in June, only a week later, Carmilla's at her desk doing her usual work when she sees movement out of the corner of her eye. The blonde is waving her arms. Everything about her screams anger and frustration. Her feet are firmly planted and her shoulders are tense. Near the door, two men stand with their hands clasped behind their backs, looking properly reprimanded, and across the street Carmilla leans back in her chair and smiles.

They leave after more angry gestures from the tiny blonde. Then Laura turns around and runs her hand through her hair, shooting a look over to Carmilla's office. Their eyes lock across the distance.

Carmilla half expects her phone to ring when she sees the blonde pick up an object and bring it to her ear, but it doesn't. She says a few words into the receiver and puts it back down a moment later, her hand lingering on the edge of the desk, as if contemplating something.

The brunette tears her eyes away from her window. She has a lot of work to get done by the end of the day, and if she doesn't then that'll mean that she needs to stay at least an extra hour after work to make up for lost time. She picks up her pen and starts rereading a section of the paperwork

Not a minute later, though, her phone vibrates.

 **Laura** :  _Look up_

Her eyes widen comically, and her throat is dryer than the Sahara at the sight in front of her. Because  _holy fuck._

She scrambles to pick up her phone when she sees Laura's name pop up.

"Like what you see?" Laura's voice sounds deeper, raspier now that she isn't as angry as she was the last time they talked. It's practically irresistible, but not as irresistible as Laura sitting in her desk chair in the middle of her office half naked.

Right now she's glad she's the only one who can see Laura right now, because what would happen if the media found out the rising CEO of Boom likes to wear pink lace?

"Oh, Laura..." she tries not to sound so _reverent_ and  _hungry,_ but in a moment like this, how else are you supposed to sound? How can she not want to be over there right now, pulling that lace down Laura's thighs and dropping down to her knees to-

She hears Laura's moan, and it's only her moan that draws her attention to how Laura's hand's already found its way between her legs to rub tight circles into dampening lace.

"Tell me what to do, Carm," Laura pleads, her breath already quickening and hitching when she hits a particularly sensitive spot.

"Spread your legs wider," Carmilla says, rolling her own chair out so she can sit in the center of her office like Laura. Laura obeys easily, clutching the phone to her ear and moaning out quiet curses. "Good girl."

"Fuck," Laura sighs out, laced with pleasure and impatience. "What next?"

"Take off your bra and play with your nipples," the brunette demands, biting her lip while she watches intently. Logically, she knows that Laura can stop this any time she wants by hanging up or saying stop, but part of her still feels unsure.

Part of her feels like they could have done this better. Could have gone on a date, or at least talked to each other face to face. Or... at least without 15 feet of distance between them. But it's too late for hesitation because there's no going back now. The bra is off.

She hears the moment Laura starts rather than sees it. The moan is unbidden and louder than expected. Laura arches her back into it.

"You're perfect," Carmilla tells her through the phone.  _You're beautiful_ , is what she thinks, but doesn't say. She feels something stir low in her stomach and between her legs, and she knows she won't be able to go through this without anything on her end, so she undoes the button on her pants easily and slips her hand into her underwear. " _Fuck_."

Their eyes meet again, like all the times before, but this time with a heat and heady darkness that bolsters the moment, and makes this act of unprofessional-ism... somehow more than rebellion to their usual working lives. This is a mix of work and pleasure. A beautiful mix. They know this.

"Touch yourself for me, Laura," Carmilla growls. Laura manages to raise her shoulder to keep the phone to her ear as she lowers her other hand back down to her waist and removes the lace quickly. Carmilla's fingers slide long her clit, through her wetness, and Laura's moans answer hers when she does the same.

"Like that?"

"Yes, good girl," the brunette moans out. Laura whimpers, stuck under Carmilla's gaze. "I wish I could taste you right now. God, Laura."

Her breath hitches audibly when the words slip out, but Laura moans so loud that Carmilla thinks she wouldn't actually need her phone to be able to hear it.

"Fuck, tell me more," Laura gasps, throwing her head back and rolling her hips into her hand.

"I want to pin you against your window and fuck you until you can't breathe," Carmilla admits, two fingers slipping lower to enter herself. "Two fingers, Cupcake." She sees Laura push into herself with two fingers, slow at first, and then moving with more purpose. Carmilla tries her best to match her speed, but it's sort of difficult to see from all the way over there.

"Carm, i want that too. I want you to-" Laura's sentence is cut off with her moan, and Carmilla smirks as if she was the one to make Laura sound like that.

"Want me to what?" Her voice is huskier with her arousal. She pumps her finger in and out of herself deftly, curling her fingers up to stroke along her wall when she drags her fingers back out

"Eat me, Carm, fuck me, do whatever you want, Fuck, I don't care!" Laura's shaky and wild. Carmilla knows that this is her second favorite Laura... (The first being the Laura that does all of this and still manages to hold a conversation with a complete stranger through window messages with all of the innocence in the world).

"If I were over there right now, you wouldn't even be able to think, let alone speak, Cupcake... I bet you're delicious," the brunette tells her, her confidence showing through, and causing Laura to arch her back and drive her fingers into herself deeper at the thought.

"Oh god, Carm," she graons, writhing in her chair and moving her hips as she moves her hand faster and faster. "I'm gonna-"

"Not yet, Laura," Carm tells her, biting her lip hard and fucking herself faster, watching Laura hold herself back--willing herself not to cum, but unable to stop her hand from bringing her closer to the edge. Whatever she says is unintelligible, too broken up with her moans and panting, and Carmilla can't get enough. She wishes she could see this up close...

"Carmilla, I can't- Please!" she begs, not pulling any punches with how desperate she sounds. Carmilla wishes she could see how wet Laura is right now, but hearing is good enough.

"You can cum, Laura." And she does. And again, if she didn't know that nobody else could see Laura, she would be seriously concerned about the news getting out that Laura Hollis is a screamer. She should probably move her phone away from her ear, but the sound is too good to miss out on.

She moves her own hand harder and faster, and the orgasm she brings herself too isn't very strong or satisfying, but only because she'd much rather be in Laura's arms, between her legs, inside of her. Anything but 15 feet away in separate rooms. If anything, it only makes her want Laura even more.

"That was- holy-"

"That was anything but holy, Laura..." Carmilla says with a smug smirk. Laura barely has the energy to send her a glare.

"Maybe we should.. go out sometime. Like..."

"..On a date?" Where did her heart go? It stopped beating.

"Yeah." Oh, there it is. She sighs contentedly, and answers slowly with a smile.

"I'd like that."

"Cool." Laura Hollis, naked and thoroughly self-fucked, smiles shyly.


	2. Emergency

Carmilla is sitting in her office trying to get her work done, but she feels compelled to look over at Laura's office to see what she's doing, or glance down at her phone to see if she has a text from her. More often than not, she'll catch Laura's gaze already on her. She has genuinely smiled more in the past two days than she has in the past year. The times when she does catch her staring, Laura smiles the most beautiful smile and looks back down at her notepad. It's the most thrilling thing. It makes Carmilla's heart seize and skips beats.

She had, at one point, wondered whether she was aromantic, or if she had just not 'found the right person yet' as many people seem to profess. She knows now more than ever that she is definitely not aromantic. All her prior relationships were marked with the same kind of blandness that comes from dating someone just for necessity or personal gain. There was no thrill when she dated Elenor for those three months in high school just because her friend said that it was weird that she didn't date anyone. She didn't even like Elenor physically. But this, this is new territory for Carmilla. She hasn't even met Laura yet, and already her stomach is rife with hoards of butterflies. They flutter into her heart and up-heave her focus on whatever task she is trying to accomplish.

Cupcake: Hey

Carmilla glances up to see Laura staring up at her, and smiles before she hits the call button. The woman answers almost immediately with an timid 'Hi', so quiet in contrast to the sounds she was making the last time they talked on the phone. Carmilla decides that she likes Laura's multi-faceted nature.

"Hey, Cupcake," Carmilla responds, appreciating how when Laura rolls her eyes she does it with her whole body. Tilting her head to the side as she looks upward and slumping back in her chair when she looks down. Still, a smile plays on her lips, but Carmilla can't quite see it from where she is. "How has your day been?"

"Very productive," Laura tells her, sitting up straighter in her chair and organizing some of the papers that were scattered around her desktop. She is glad Carmilla cannot see the tremor in her fingertips from where she sits in her office. Carmilla leans further back in her rolling chair and smirks.

"Is that so?" Laura clears her throat.

"Yes. In fact, I.. have," Carmilla sees Laura reach across her desk to grab something, and hears the familiar sound of fresh printed card stock before she sees it, "a business proposal that I just printed off."

"Don't you have an assistant that prints things for you? Maybe that's just the important companies that have that, my bad," Carmilla says dismissively, snickering when she sees Laura pause while walking over to her filing cabinet and look at Carmilla with her mouth open in shock. It grows into full-out laughter when she sees Laura's face bunch up in anger, "I'm kidding, Cupcake! I'm kidding."

"I.. knew that," Laura grumbles and stuffs the proposal into an envelop, sealing it quickly and scribbling something on the front. "I need to send this over right away, hold on a sec."

Carmilla hears her call to her assistant Lafontaine over the phone, and sees a stocky person run into the room and take the envelop, hurriedly rushing out the door in an almost comic nature.

"What's wrong with them?" Carmilla asks, Laura laughs nervously and shrugs.

"Well, it's a very important business proposal, and they're sort of always in a rush. It's convenient, I don't kno-" She hears a knock on her door.

"Hold on, Laura." She sits up straight and holds the phone to her chest. "Come in!" she calls out.

"Ms. Karnstein, I have a very important business proposal for you from Boom inc." Cautiously, she takes the envelope and reads the scratchy handwriting on the front. Her assistant, JP, leaves without another word. She leans back in her chair.

 

'VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESS PROPOSAL FROM BOOM INC.HANDLE WITH CARE'

 

She puts the phone back up to her ear once more, hinting a small smile, "Laura, what did you do?"

"What ever do you mean, Ms. Karnstein?" The smile is apparent in her tone. Carmilla is even more curious. She quickly opens the document, wholly ignoring the 'handle with care'.

 

'Dear, Ms. Karnstein,

Would you like to accompany me to the finest restaurant in Silas this evening?  
Awaiting your response.

Sincerely, Laura Hollis

Boom Inc. CEO'

 

"So?" Laura asks with her nerves inching into her tone, flipping some switch in Carmilla mind that makes her want to hug the smaller woman and tell her everything's going to be alright. She has to consciously hold herself back.

"Hmm, I'll have to check my schedule.. I've been pretty distracted today. This hot blonde moved into the office next to yours.. you know how it is, right, cutie?"

"...You're joking again, right?"

"Yes, I'll go out with you, Laura." Across the street, the blonde woman perks up in her seat and smiles wide.

"Really?!" It baffles Carmilla that Laura could think that she'd reject her after she basically already asked her out two days ago after their... 'exercise in relaxation'.

"Yes, really! You thought I'd say no?"

"I mean- well I- I don't..."

"What time," Carmilla chuckles, interrupting Laura's cute stuttering.

"Oh! When do you get off?" This thing between them is new, but Carmilla can't help herself. She already feels like they're close enough to joke around. She looks up at the ceiling and smiles as she responds.

"Tonight, hopefully."

"Carm, don't ruin this." Laura sighs exasperated and slightly amused.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll be free at six."

"Great. I'll pick you up at six then."

"Pick me up?"

"Yeah, Karnstein. If this is a date, I'm going to go all out."

"I'd love to see you try to woo me. I'll see you at six. Get back to work, Hollis. The Forbes 40 under 40 list awaits."

"Bye, Carm," Laura smiles into the receiver. There's a short pause full of anticipation before she hangs up and gets back to work. Across the street, Carmilla still has her phone up to her ear, unable to keep her raucous emotions in check.

She takes a deep breath in and her lungs feel sweet with the fresh air. Her heart feels like it's a thousand times its normal size when she realizes just how easy it'll be to fall in love with Laura Hollis. Eventually, she can stop staring at Boom Inc long enough to focus on her own work, but she never can get the blonde completely out of her head.

  
\--

  
Every text from Laura is like opening a present on Christmas morning. She remembers when she used to celebrate Christmas with her family, Sitting next to the tree with them all around her, smiling and happy. It's those moments that she often tries to avoid thinking about, because celebrating Christmas with her whole family is no longer a possibility with her parents having died a few years back, and her brother living in a different country. That kind of joy isn't even a once a year occurrence anymore. She takes a deep breath and manages to shake herself from her thoughts, but the tight ball forming in her chest doesn't seem to want to budge. She sighs and reads the text Laura sent.

Laura: Do you prefer red roses, or white?

She smiles as she feels the sadness lose its grip and quickly responds.

Carmilla: Surprise me?

Her knee bounces up and down as she taps her foot against the smooth concrete floor. She doesn't remember the last time she went on a date, but even more so she can't recall the last time she experienced this feeling; this blooming nervous excitement in her chest. She thinks maybe it was when she was very young, and the concept of getting older was still exciting for her. She never thought she would find someone that could put that kind of excitement back into everyday life.

With Laura, every morning is Christmas, every afternoon is Thanks Giving, and every night is Halloween. Every single day with Laura should be celebrated as a nationally recognized holiday.

Carmilla catches her thoughts and coughs suddenly, wondering when she became such a love-struck fool. No! Not love. Carmilla does not fall in love with a few phone calls, no matter how orgasm inducing. Carmilla does not fall in love with someone who she has yet to even meet up close in person. Carmilla doesn't fall in love before at least getting to know someone first. God.

She closes her eyes and rubs her face, which she is acutely aware is probably burning. Her phone which lays in her lap buzzes with another text.

Laura: What are you thinking about?

She looks up and Laura is looking at her, leaning against her desk and resting her head on her hand.

Carmilla: It's nothing, Cupcake. I was simply rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes.

Laura: Are you sure? You look stressed. Do you need tips on relaxation techniques? ;)

Carmilla smirks and taps her fingers against her desk. Memories of that day come flooding back, and so does that familiar heat pools in the pit of her stomach. She starts typing out her reply, but suddenly there's a knock on the door. Checking her watch, she curses herself for forgetting that she has an appointment with her CFO, the repulsive Theo Straka, at 4:30.

Carmilla: I'm sorry, I have an appointment with my CFO. Kill me.

Laura: I guess I'll have to teach you in person later.

Carmilla groans, but concedes that she can't ditch the appointment just because she wants to masturbate. With that last text in mind, she knows the next hour will be even more unbearable than usual, but she squares up and puts her phone face down on her desk.

"Come in."

 

\--

 

"So, as you see, the next quarter the company's net worth will increase and th-"

"Hold on Mr. Straka I have to take this," Carmilla interrupts her very monotone, very long-winded CFO in what she really hopes was the end of his quarterly report. She had heard her phone vibrate where it lay untouched on the desk, and she simply couldn't resist the urge to check it.

Laura: Does that guy ever stop talking? It's almost six.

She glances at the time at the upper right hand corner of her phone and smiles. It's 5:40, meaning not only does she have the right to end this session since it's been going on for far too long, but also her date with Laura is so close she can almost taste it.

Laura: I see you smiling at your phone :)

She tries to suppress the smile on her lips but fails miserably. Theo clears his throat trying to get Carmilla's attention. The CEO looks up with a small smile and stands, clutching her phone in her hand.

"I'm sorry, I have another appointment that I need to get to."

"Oh, of course. You're very busy. I apologize for taking up so much of your time," her CFO says, but he obviously doesn't mean it. He does it every single time he steps into this office. "May I ask, is this appointment with Laura Hollis?"

Carmilla nearly drops her phone and her heart jolts "What?" How does he know?

"The CEO of Boom Inc.?" He points out the window to the building across the street. Carmilla dumbly follows his finger and sees Laura typing on her laptop, looking as beautiful as ever.

"Oh- yeah, I know who she is. Why do you ask?" she manages.

"It's been going around that you received an important business proposal," he confesses. He furrows his eyebrows and purses his lips in thought. "I must say, with their numbers, it would be highly beneficial if Lophii could strike up some sort of exchange with them. Maybe even a merger."

Carmilla coughs, eyes wide, "Merger? Why? Wouldn't that be risky?" Carmilla doesn't know very much about running a company as big as this one, despite going to a four-year college to get her degree in Business administrations and running a few of her own successful companies before she was set to take the helm from her brother.

"Well, the shareholders have been all about it, from what I've heard. I personally think it would be great for us to expand our market and production line beyond just simple cereal, but what do I know? I'm just the chief financial officer," he says sarcastically. Carmilla sighs, suddenly feeling stressed at the thought of having to work out a merger with Laura.

"If- If we merge, a conglomerate merger, then L- Ms. Hollis will have to step down, right?" She asks, already knowing the answer.

"Naturally. We can't just have her taking your spot, Ms. Karnstein," he chuckles obnoxiously, "But with her expertise, I'm sure she would end up right under you as COO."

The idea of a merger is anxiety inducing, as it's considered a huge managerial task with a lot of risk, but a lot of reward. What's even more anxiety inducing is the idea of merging her company with Laura's, and essentially fighting for the CEO position. She can't do this right now. It's 5:50. She should be in the lobby by now, being excited for their date.

"Listen, I have to go, I'm running a bit behind, but we'll talk about this later," Carmilla says as she ushers him out the door and locks it behind her.

"Will do, Ms. Karnstein. Have a good night."

"You too, Mr. Straka." She runs off to the elevator feeling almost certain that this date might not go as well as she had planned.


	3. For here, or to go?

The anxiety about the possible merger persists as the elevator makes its way to the ground floor lobby. But as she gets nearer and nearer, she starts to realize that the concern about the merger is not as prevalent as the anticipation and uncertainty of how this meeting with Laura will turn out. Will she be the same as she expected? Will Laura like the way Carmilla looks? What if Laura is actually a fifty year old- 

 _Wait.. Carmilla, calm down. Don't be irrational; this isn't some blind date. You know exactly how Laura looks. You know very well how she sounds, and you are certain that she is into you. At least enough to ask you on a date via a 'very important' business proposal._  

Despite her attempts to calm her heart, her anxiety persists until the elevator doors open on the bottom floor to reveal Laura Hollis waiting with her purse clutched in her hands. She's wearing the same thing she was wearing earlier: a black skirt, salmon and a pink blouse. Carmilla realizes that she's taller than she originally had expected, but one glance at Laura's ridiculously impractical high heels tells her that she might very well be shorter than she believed. Where did she even get heels that high? 

 Laura hasn't noticed her yet. She's talking to some man that she recognizes as one of the better floor managers. She thinks his name is Kirsch, but she isn't paying enough attention to him to really care at all about his name. Laura's smile is drawing all of her attention now. Laura's eyes are captivating her as she tries to distinguish all the lines and curves. If only Laura would come closer and look toward her, she would be able to appreciate her beauty a little bit more.

 Suddenly the elevator doors close in front of her, leaving her trapped in the elevating death box once more. "Shit!" She quickly presses the 'Open Doors' button, but it's too late. The elevator is already ascending. She hadn't even noticed that other people had gotten on the elevator with her, she was too distracted by... well.. 

"Ms. Karnstein, you should pay more attention next time," JP says from right behind her. Carmilla starts and turns around, taking a deep breath to calm herself. 

"JP! I didn't see you there... I- um. Yes. I was a bit..." Carmilla trails off, trying to find an adequate word for what just happened. 

"Gay?" JP supplies, no judgement in his tone, but a knowing look in his eyes. Carmilla looks down and avoids his gaze. It's not that she's not comfortable with him knowing her sexuality, but she tries hard to separate her personal life from her work life. JP presses the button for floor 3 and stares ahead.

"You might want to take the stairs, Ms. Karnstein. I am headed to the top floor, and you wouldn't want to be late for your _meeting_ with Ms. Hollis." Before she can say anything, the doors open on level 3 and a hoard of people get on the elevator, effectively leaving no room for her. She finds the door to the stair well and pauses with her hand on the handle. 

The anxiety is still there, but now there's a sense of encouragement mixed in. She opens the door firmly and rushes down four flights of stairs to the ground floor, where she walks over to where Laura and Kirsch are talking. "Ms. Hollis, so lovely to see you here." 

"Ms. Karnstein," Laura says with a bright smile and a sparkle dancing in her eyes, "I was just telling Kirsch that I could use someone like him on my team." 

"Trying to steal my employees, Ms. Hollis?" Carmilla chuckles, actively ignoring the thought that they might not have to fight over employees if the merger idea takes off. "Kirsch is loyal." 

"It's true. Sorry, Laura. I would love to help out with your granola bars, but my heart is in the cereal business. Ms. Karnstein here practically saved me with this job. I owe her my life." 

"Fair enough. If you ever change your mind, you have my card," Laura concedes. "Are you ready to go, Ms. Karnstein? We have a reservation." 

"More ready than ever." Carmilla smiles and they both walk out the door. The minute they get a block away from both of their buildings, Carmilla smiles wide at Laura while Laura herself looks down and blushes. Between them, their hands brush against each other with each step they take. 

\-- 

Back in the lobby, Theo Straka comes up behind Kirsch, his hands behind his back in an imposing manner. Kirsch turns around quickly when he feels a puff of breath on the back of his neck. His hair stands on end. 

"I bet they're meeting to discuss the merger," he says nonchalantly as he smirks and fiddles with the cuffs of his sleeves. Kirsch finds it odd that the CFO is talking to him, since Theo has never talked to him once in all of his years being here, and has hardly ever been seen talking to anyone below him on the business hierarchy. However, being a genuinely good guy, Kirsch is always open to making friends. Even with someone as smarmy as Theo. 

"A merger?" Kirsch racks his brain to find any knowledge of a possible merger with Boom Inc., but finds nothing. Even the conversation he just had with Ms. Hollis and Ms. Karnstein is evidence against it. What does Theo know? "But, that doesn't make any sense, I just talked to them both and it didn't sound li-" 

"I heard it from Ms. Karnstein herself. She thinks it will benefit us all. Stronger together, you know? I personally think it could put a lot of people out of a job." Theo's smile doesn't budge, and it's starting to unsettle Kirsch. But he's only a floor manager, and Theo is the CFO. He's the one Carmilla would talk to directly about a merger if the idea ever came up, not Kirsch. Maybe it's possible. 

"You know how CEOs are, Kirsch. Don't tell me that after five years in the business, you still think Ms. Karnstein tells you everything that goes on. If they were discussing a merger, do you really think she would tell you before she told everyone else?" He has a point, Kirsch is sad to admit. As much as he respects Ms. Karnstein and all she does for the company, he understands that she is liable to keep secrets from her employees. 

"She's.. No, I guess not... Just because I'm loyal to her doesn't mean she has to be loyal to me." 

"It will be okay. I'm sure Carmilla will find a place for you, right?" Theo places a hand on his shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile that somehow misses the mark on making him feel better about the future of his career.

Feeling downtrodden, Kirsch nods at the ground and musters a barely there smile, "right."

 

\--

 

Somewhere along their walk to the restaurant, Laura grabs Carmilla's hand and laces their fingers together. Carmilla's heart soars with the tiny gesture. She feels like a kid experiencing something for the first time, trying her best to feel it to it's fullest. She squeezes Laura's hand the next step they take in tandem and gets a firm squeeze in response. Just that firm press of palm to palm makes drugs and alcohol look like child's play.

Carmilla glances over at Laura for the thirtieth time, and for the thirtieth time Laura meets her eyes and makes a silly face at her. She could seriously get addicted to Laura Hollis. She might need rehab if this doesn't work out.

"We're two blocks away," Laura points out once they turn a corner down a relatively empty street. 

All the foot traffic is on the main road this time of day. There are only a few bums and stragglers trying to find a place to stay. Laura swings their hands between them and tugs Carmilla closer. Their shoulders brush with each step they take.

"Good, because I'm hungry," Carmilla says with a genuine smile, which soon morphs into something more devious and telling. She continues, "Let's get through with dinner so I can sate my appetite back at your place."

Laura laughs and pushes Carmilla, who also can't help but laugh, with her free hand. Carmilla stumbles to the side a little but with her hand still entangled with Laura's it's easy to recover and return to her favorite place right by the blonde's side. 

As they continue walking to their destination, their laughter dies down slowly, like water draining from a sink basin, and all that is left is comfortable silence. Carmilla can't wipe the smile off her face, and it's entirely the fault of this woman she can't keep her eyes off of. Without thinking too much about it, she leans over and kisses Laura's cheek, delighting in the way it lights up red almost immediately.

They don't say another word for the rest of the walk, preferring to communicate through thrown glances and hand squeezes.

 

\--

 

"Reservation for Laura Hollis," Laura says to the hostess at the front table with a large bound book sitting in front of her with lists upon lists of names for reservations and times. Behind her, Carmilla looks around at the gold encrusted emblems and etchings scattered along the walls. 

She only focuses back on Laura when she feels a hand grab hers, and she sees Laura staring at her with an endearing smile. "What do you think?"

"I've never been in here before. I didn't expect it to look so..." Carmilla thinks for a moment as she looks at the various pictures and historical paintings along the walls with no organization or order, "so much like the result of a pompous billionaire buying a Cracker Barrel and revamping it."

"Carmilla," Laura whispers with an amused smile, "they'll hear you!"

The hostess grabs their menus and, with a kind smile, leads them to a private table next to a wall of glass windows overlooking the harbor. The view is magnificent. The setting sun paints the sky a brilliant gradient of orange and pink above the skyscrapers which stretch far beyond Carmilla had realized. It's hard to imagine that there are trees which reach up even further. 

Her fingers splay across the high-quality gold-lined tablecloth, just barely brushing the ends of Laura's. They share a smile; Laura's wide and unapologetic, and Carmilla's closed-mouthed but undoubtedly there and real. Neither of them know how to continue. 

The sever comed around while Carmilla is struggling to remember the last time she went on an actual date and suddenly she realizes that she's wasted a lot of time simply staring at Laura. She has absolutely no idea what she wants. To her relief, Laura seems to have no clue either.

The server takes their drink order-- Carmilla orders a simple glass of red wine, and Laura asks for sparkling water--and leaves to retrieve their drinks and give them some more time to come up with what they want to eat.

"Don't look at me like that," Laura admonishes playfully as she glances at Carmilla over the menu. Carmilla has yet to look at her own menu, too busy tracing the blonde's distinctive features with her eyes.

"Like what?" Carmilla simpers.

"Like we're in some over-sexualized lesbian film," she tells her, placing the menu on the table with her hands ontop of it and leaning forward. Carmilla smiles and trails her fingers over Laura's.

"What if that's what I'm looking for?"

"Is that... _all_ you're looking for?" Laura tilts her head as she flips her hand over so she can meet the brunette's palm. Carmilla can hear the seriousness in her tone despite the playfulness of her smile.

"Not even close, Cupcake." She leans back, keeping her hand in Laura's as she finally lifts the menu and scans the options.

The next few moments are comfortably quiet while they look for what they want to eat.

"Have you decided what you want?" the server asks politely, holding her notepad up with her pen ready.

"I'll have the gnocchi soup," Carmilla says with a reserved smile. The server scribbles on her notepad and then looks over to Laura.

"I'll have the same." Carmilla raises her eyebrows as if to say 'oh really?' Laura avoids eye contact while she takes the menu from Carmilla and gives it to the server before she leaves. Laura straightens up in her chair and shifts slightly, looking down at the table for a moment before finally locking eyes with Carmilla.

The brunette can't contain the laughter that bubbles up inside of her. The blonde, afronted, can't help but smile.

"Why are you laughing?" she asks, mock-offended. Carmilla squeezes her hand and shakes her head, finally geting a hold of herself.

"Just soup? Why not have a full-course meal? Are you in a rush, Laura?" Carmilla smirks and bites her lip, leaning closer. Laura pouts.

"You got soup too!"

"I know, but I didnt expect it from you. Though.. I suppose you've always been deceptively innocent." She drags her index finger down Laura's wrist and traces the lines on her palms gently.

"Deceptively innocent?" The blonde seems to shiver, her pupils dialating.

"Laura Hollis... are you sure you dont want to get that soup to go?"

Laura's mouth opens and closes several times, but before she can respond the server places two bowls in front of them. Laura clears her throat and tears her eyes away from Carmilla to look at the server.

"A-actually, can we get these to go?"


	4. The Achievement of Desire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2 am and I'm really tired. the chapter of this title is an essay written by Richard Rodriguez that I had to read for one of the courses I'm taking. It's about this kid who values education over his family and faces consequence and all that-- Doesn't matter. It popped up as a suggestion when I clicked on the box and, given the contents of this chapter, I found it pretty funny. 
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes. As I said, I'm very tired and too impatient to wait until tomorrow when I am more coherent and can edit properly. Have a good day, night, or whatever. And happy late Thanksgiving for any fellow Americans.

Laura is struggling to get the key into the door. They're very fortunate that Laura lives so close, because although Carmilla prides herself on her ability to remain professional under stressful and/or arousing situations, she doesn't know if she can keep her hands off of Laura for one more second. But Laura is struggling to get the key into the damn door. Carmilla stands behind her, impatient, with her hands itching to reach out and grab the blonde's waist and press flush against her back. To at least be closer to her. 

"Just let me do it," Carmilla is pleading at this point. She's almost crushing the Styrofoam boxes of food in her hands with the tension coiling through her. 

"Fine!" Laura sighs, frustrated, as she thrusts the key toward Carmilla and takes the boxes. She leans against the wall opposite the door and examines Carmilla's lean form as she briskly pushes the key into the lock. Laura watches in awe as her firm shoulder moves when she twists it once, then twice.

"It's not twisting," Carmilla supplies as she tries again. Laura, confused, looks at the room number posted above the door. Her eyes widen and she steps away from the wall.

"Wait, Carmilla, I think-"

_Snap!_

"This is the wrong apartment..." she finishes uselessly. Carmilla turns around with a small metal fragment between her index finger and thumb -- what's left of the Laura's key. She stares down at it as if someone had just robbed her of the only great thing in her life. Laura's heart melts. "Oh, Carm-"

"How do you not know your own apartment number?" Carmilla demands. Laura places the containers on the ground and takes a step forward with her hands on her hips, trying for an intimidating stance. Carmilla glances down for a moment before forcing her eyes back up to Laura's.

"I work until 11 pm most nights and I can barely keep my eyes open!" Laura counters, "Do you know your apartment number?"

"Yes, it's Lophii Inc. 40th floor main office, thank you very much." Carmilla snarks back, taking a step closer and crossing her arms in-front of her.

"So that's how you always stay at work so late!" Laura gasps, a little upset that she never even had a chance to beat Carmilla at her own game. "Your assistant must hate you," she mumbles.

"JP? Oh, no... I'm convinced he's a vampire," Carmilla says back in a more hushed tone, "I've never even seen him eat. And I'm pretty sure he flinched away from sunlight once."

"I could say the same for you, Ms. Karnstein," Laura says. The flirtatiousness has made its way back into the conversation.

"You think I'm a vampire, cutie?" Carmilla raises an eyebrow and uncrosses her arms. She pockets the broken end of the key and grabs Laura's hands. The blonde tilts her head and smiles.

"It's a distinct possibility. I've never seen you sleep or eat. I'm not even sure your stunning beauty will show up in mirrors."

"We can sleep together and then you'll know for sure, Cupcake." Laura leans into Carmilla's space, glancing at her lips longingly.

"Something tells me we wouldn't be doing much sleeping." Carmilla takes a shuddering breath and her eyes go hazy with desire. She leans forward minutely, unconsciously.

Laura leans back a little, almost nervous, realizing the gravity of them kissing. They're both CEOs who work for two large name companies. Phone sex was... it was great, but it wasn't intimate. It didn't mean much other than stress relief, but it left a craving for something. For someone. For  _her_. And now here she is in her arms, and she's hesitating.

 She looks into Carmilla's lustful eyes and then back at her lips, and then, deciding they've both been waiting for far too long, between the attempted date to the broken key now lodged in the lock of some stranger's door, she shakes Carmilla's hands off of hers and grabs her by the face to push forward and connect their lips eagerly. 

Carmilla reacts quickly and relocates her hands to Laura's hips. With her leverage, she presses her against the wall behind her. Laura moans into the kiss, threading her fingers through brunette hair and pulling her closer. Fingers hook into the belt loops on Laura's slacks and pull hips flush together as the angle of the kiss changes and then their tongues meet gently. The kiss slows substantially. 

Their breaths mingle in the stilted sighs that fill the breaks between kisses. They want to keep kissing forever, to make up for all the times they were simply too far apart, too constrained by the tradition of a 'regular date'. Laura removes her fingers from their entanglement in Carmilla's hair and instead cups her face gently as they explore each other unhurried. Carmilla really wishes she were a vampire right about now so she didn't have to break the moment, but eventually her lungs starts to burn too much for her to ignore. 

She pulls away and rests her forehead against Laura's, pulling back a little farther and smiling when Laura tries to chase her lips. Their unsteady breaths make the air around them much too warm. Carmilla brushes her thumbs over the skin just above Laura's work pants, reluctant to let go. With her eyes closed and her lower lip caught between her teeth, she tries to control the desire thrumming through her veins.  

"I can't get into my apartment," Laura reminds her, brushing over her cheekbones with the pads of her thumbs. "Where should we go?"

"Wait, are we still..."

"Carmilla," Laura says seriously, looking Carmilla dead in the eye.

"Yeah?" Carmilla answers, slightly nervous. Laura holds the brunette's face closer and gives her a kiss that, although chaste, seems like it'll never end. Laura breaks the kiss if only to pull back an inch and look Carmilla in the eye again.

"I can't wait another day. I can't even wait two hours to get another key." Carmilla can't say she doesn't feel the same. After all, this whole thing was her idea. She's been craving this woman since the fateful day of the phone-call incident. Probably even before that. And while one might argue that masturbating in front of a giant window where someone might be able to see may be a bit on the exhibitionist side, she's not about to fuck Laura against this wall for the poor sap who lives in this apartment they just vandalized, not to mention anyone who ventures out into the hall, to see. Nor does she want to find a random broom closet where they can have a quickie in a cramped room full of mops, dirty water, and fresh towels--no matter how convenient it may be

"Do you want to go back to my place?" the brunette smirks and holds up her Lophii Inc. key card still attached at her waist. Somehow, that was exactly what Laura needed to hear at that exact moment in time. She nods, still slogging through the mental-flood of all of the office-furniture-related things she can do with Carmilla in her office.

They pick up their containers and get out of there as fast as they can.

 

\--

 

Hindsight is a real bitch right now.  As they walk all the way back to their starting point, they are barely able to keep their hands to each other. The sun has only just dipped below the horizon and already they are huddling closer for warmth. They decided to ditch the food because they kept dropping it. Such a shame.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how good has this date been?" Laura asks, turning her head toward Carmilla as they walk. Carmilla has her usual smug look in her eyes, but her answer is in almost complete contrast.

"Well, Cupcake, I don't know if you have successfully woo'ed me," she shakes her head and smiles to herself, "but I'm willing to bet that his has been the best date I've ever been on. I'd give it a solid 7.5." She wraps an arm around Laura's shoulder and pulls her closer.

"Wow," the blonde sighs and leans into Carmilla's side more, "you must have been on some terrible dates for this to be considered the best."

"I've never been on a date with someone I actually was interested in until now," she tells her. Despite having already put her emotions on the table earlier, she suddenly feels vulnerable. She feels like the three little pigs who, by some stupid decision, decided to give the big bad wolf a key to their home and an invitation to tea time. 

Carmilla holds out for the possibility that she isn't an idiot, and that maybe her heart isn't being laid on the line right now. After all, Laura has given her absolutely no reason to feel afraid or ashamed for anything she has said or done so far.

"This is the first date I've ever been on. So 7.5 isn't too bad in my book," the blonde muses as she looks up at the high-rises that tower over them. Carmilla feels like she should say something, but a snarky comment wouldn't be fitting, and anything she could say would only serve to break the moment that they're in. Laura continues, "I'm glad my first date was with someone that I'm genuinely interested in."

As they walk up to the front door of her building, Carmilla is smiling so wide that it could outshine any star in the sky. She quickly swipes her key-card and they both get on the elevator, headed to the 40th floor. 

Near the 10th floor, Carmilla cups Laura's face and brings their lips together, trying to convey they way her heart feels though the softness of her lips against Laura's, and the gentle way she holds her close. But that quickly goes out the window when Laura grabs Carmilla's ass and pulls her closer. 

The kiss turns heated around floor 25, which is when Carmilla not-so-gracefully ushers Laura against the side wall of the elevator and lifts her up onto the handle bar. The soft exploratory kisses turn rough and open-mouthed as Laura's hands scramble against the brunette's button-down to free it from where it's trapped beneath her thin leather belt.

"Laura you're going to tear my shirt," Carmilla warns between kisses, Laura bites her lip and tugs she shirt harder.

"Do you really care more about your shirt right now?" She's right. Fuck the shirt. She has ten more just like it tucked in the box beneath her couch. Despite that, Laura still takes the time to undo Carmilla's belt and unbutton her pants so she can free the shirt without damaging it. The elevator doors open on the 40th floor by the time Laura's fingers start fiddling with the buttons of Carmilla's shirt as the brunette kisses down her jaw. 

"Carm, we gotta get off," Laura tells her. Carmilla scrapes her teeth against the blondes neck and then backs away, helping Laura off the bar.

"I'm working on it," she mumbles while biting Laura's shoulder flirtatiously. They make it to Carmilla's office in no time at all, seeing nobody else on the floor. Carmilla doesn't know what she would do if someone saw her with her shirt untucked and her hair unruly from several make out sessions in various locations with the one and only Laura Hollis. 

Once they're in the room, Carmilla shuts the door behind them and locks it quickly, fully intending to ravage Laura as soon as she turns around, but plans change once she sees the blonde standing there in front of the giant glass window bathed in moonlight with her heels hanging from her fingertips. She stares out into her own office across the street. 

"I've never seen my office like this," she says. Carmilla walks up behind her slowly and places her hands on Laura's hips, sliding them around to her stomach and hugging her from behind. Laura is definitely shorter than Carmilla without her heels on. "It's so dark." Carmilla leans down and places her lips on the back of her neck and moves her hair away from her neck to place another kiss right below her ear.

"You give it light, Laura." She smiles when she hears the heels hit the floor and feels Laura lean back into her for support.

"I'm pretty sure that's electricity, Carm." Laura bites her lip and turns in Carmilla's arms to face her.

"I light up when you're around," Carmilla whispers and pecks her lips. "What's your excuse for me?"

Laura doesn't give an answer, simply too enraptured by the proximity of Carmilla's lips to stay away for much longer knowing that this time nothing is going to hold them back. Her hands go back to unbuttoning Carmilla's shirt as she whimpers into the kiss.

Laura unbuttons the last button and watches at Carmilla shrugs the shirt off, revealing her black lace bra. Laura carefully places her hands on the brunette's sides and feels the softness of her skin. She trails kisses along the top of Carmilla's pale breasts, framed perfectly by the lace. She pulls away when Carmilla starting  pushing Laura's jacket off her shoulders. It falls to the floor and her blouse quickly follows.

 "I've wanted this," Carmilla whispers and pulls Laura's face back to hers with one hand as she places the other just below her breasts and slowly moves it upward slowly until it finally covers one breast. Laura sighs, as if the addition of Carmilla's hand to her chest suddenly relieved some burden from her shoulders.

"Carmilla, I can't wait," Laura says with an edge of desperation in her tone. She pushes Carmilla back until she bumps into her desk. Her lips attack the brunettes chest while her unclasps bra and throws it to the side, quickly capturing a nipple in her mouth. All Carmilla can do is lean against the desk and throw her head back.

"Oh god, this is so much better than phone sex," Carmilla gasps and spreads her legs, feeling Laura's hand make its way into her pants where it deftly slips into her underwear and finds her soaked. Laura kisses up her chest and neck to her shoulder, where she leans her forehead and gasps, gliding her fingers over Carmilla's entrance smoothly with the amount of wetness there.

"Laura, don't tease me... we have plenty of time to take our time later, after you've-" Laura pushes two fingers into Carmilla mid-sentence and latches onto the skin above her breast eagerly, "oh my fuck, yes!"

"Is this good?" Laura asks breathlessly as she test how far she can push into Carmilla. The brunette suppresses a moan and nods, silently pleading the blonde to move her fingers. Laura kisses Carmilla's lips chastely as she curls her fingers against Carmilla's front wall. She hears the moan clear as day, and takes it as encouragement to pull her fingers out almost all the way and then push them back in quickly. 

Carmilla rolls her hips forward into Laura's hand and can't help the moan that's ripped from her throat. Yeah, this is definitely better than phone sex. Laura repeats the motion a few more times before she starts to speed up. Carmilla continues rolling her hips, almost growling in pleasure as Laura uses the palm of her hand to rub her clit.

"Laura, yes, please, harder," Carmilla mutters against the side of Laura's head, well on her way to getting lost in the pleasure Laura's fingers are giving to her. Laura fulfills her request almost immediately, shifting so that she can put more of her weight behind her hand and drive it up harder into her. She puts all of her desperation into the way she fucks her. She wants Carmilla to feel good without any shred of doubt. 

Laura keeps building her higher toward her peak until she reaches the tipping point and she's falling. Carmilla grips onto Laura's shoulders, sure that she could never let go even if she tried. In this moment where she is allowing herself to lose her professionalism with another person; allowing that person to hold her as she breaks and to whisper soothing encouragement.

Laura carefully removes her fingers and slides her hand out of Carmilla's pants. Her fingers leave wet trails from the brunette's midriff to between her breasts. She places two fingers on Carmilla's lower lip, prompting the brunette to open her mouth and taste herself. She sucks on Laura's fingers until the blonde removes them and replaces them with her own mouth. From that first taste of Carmilla, she quickly realizes that she's far from done with her. 

She breaks the kiss and meets Carmilla's eyes, her gaze dark as she kisses the spot between her breasts and trails her tongue down, cleaning up the wetness she left. She leaves open mouthed kisses down her body, never breaking eye contact.

Carmilla throws her head back and groans in relief once she finally has Laura's mouth on her. She's only a little bit sensitive, but she's more than ready for more. She tangles one hand in blonde hair and accidentally knocks a stack of papers off the desk when she leans back for support. Her hips buck onto Laura's tongue as the blonde latches onto her clit and lets her tongue flick against it repeatedly.

The intensity of her impending orgasm scares her. She knows it's never been this intense before. With her eyes shut tight, she untangles her hand from Laura's hair blindly reaches out for her hand. Laura offers her hand almost immediately, never once letting up with her tongue. Once their hands are clasped, Carmilla squeezes tight and feels safer knowing that Laura is right there with her.

"Laura!" she calls out just as she falls over the edge. The arm holding her up gives out and she falls onto her elbow as the orgasm wracks her body. Laura doesn't stop eating her out until Carmilla pushes her head away and closes her legs, relishing in the tendrils of her pleasure that are slowly ebbing away, but are still present in the tingling of her limbs and the way her walls clench around nothing. 

"I love it when you say my name like that," Laura stands with a smile and places another kiss on Carmilla's waiting lips. Carmilla smooths down Laura's sex-mussed hair and kisses her back, remarking how much more she likes tasting herself on Laura's tongue than on her fingers. Though she supposes she can't complain too much. She smirks and slips off the desk gracefully, loving the height advantage she has over the blonde CEO.

"Now it's your turn, Cupcake."


	5. No more locked doors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting in a while, and that this is so short. I haven't been much for motivation. I got surgery, recovered, started a new semester at college. A lot's been happening. I hope you enjoy this and have good days. Adios!

The sun shines through the large floor to ceiling windows, reminding Carmilla to look into buying 12 ft by 10 ft blinds so she can sleep in. she hears a groan from somewhere next to her and feels something press into her side, and she remembers what happened just hours prior. She looks down and sees Laura Hollis cuddled into her side, her arms wrapped around Carmilla's waist bare waist under the blanket that just barely overs the both of them. Gently she turns onto her side and props herself up on her elbow to run the tips of her fingers down Laura's spine with a blissful smile. 

"Carm?" Carmilla opens her eyes just barely and very nearly clamps them shut again. Something about Carmilla reminds her very much of a tired kitten. Carmilla twists and stretches on her small portion of the couch and almost pushes Laura off the edge, if she wasn't so wrapped in her already. 

"Good morning, Cupcake." Carmilla turns her head back into the pillow and her eyes are shut again. She huffs grumpily. Carmilla definitely isn't a morning person.

"You know my name," Laura grumbles, to Carmilla's amusement. The Boom inc. CEO brushes a few locks of hair back behind Carmilla's ear and leans down to kiss her cheek.

"But it doesn't describe how edible you are."

Laura smiles and buries her face in Carmilla's neck like a secret hideaway, concealing the red tint of her cheeks as she remembers the events of last night. Flashes of Laura's white knuckle grip on dark mahogany as Carmilla lavished her. Images of fingers buried in hair. 

The memory of how Carmilla suggested they take a break and eat, so they sat side by side on the floor next to her desk eating granola bars and sipping apple juice. Her lips still feel like they tingle from long, lingering, sugar-coated kiss Carmilla gave her when she told her that this was the first time she's stayed out so late all year, and she's glad it was with her. 

"What time is it?" Carmilla asks from her little alcove. The stutter of breath on Laura's neck makes her shiver and sink further into her. Despite her reluctance, she leans over to get her phone off the coffee table.

"Shit. It's nearly half past seven. People will be clocking in soon." Laura sighs a sad sigh and grabs Carmilla's hand. 

"Tell the world to come back later," Carmilla grumbles and shifts closer to Laura, hoping to find some more comfort on the small couch. 

"Sorry, Carm. Some people have work to do," Laura smiles and kisses the tip of Carmilla's nose, which the brunette promptly scrunches. 

"Let me guess, you're one of those people?" Carmilla inches her face closer, glancing down at Laura's slightly chapped lips and then back at her bright eyes.

"I'm already an hour behind schedule."

"I'm a bad influence aren't I?" She inches even closer, a smile spreading across her face as their lips nearly touch and Laura can't seem to respond. 

"I don't mind," the blonde finally manages just before their lips connect and they melt into each other. Morning breath be damned. Carmilla ends up on top, with Laura's leg wrapped around the brunette's waist to pull her closer while they kiss lackadaisically.  Seconds turn into minutes, and after several minutes, Laura breaks the kiss.

"I really need to go before anyone sees me." She's unable to resist kissing her once more. 

"I could do this for hours," Carmilla sighs into her mouth, trying to memorize the way her tongue feels. Laura manages to drag herself away from the kiss again.

"I know, but I-"

"I know, I know," Carmilla concedes and sits up, letting Laura stand. She watches her search around the office to find her discarded clothing, remembering the sinful things she's done with her and is hoping to be able to do with her very soon in the future. 

"What are you thinking about?" Laura asks, but the look on her face tells Carmilla that her thoughts can be heard loud and clear. She stands from the couch and walks over to the blonde who's just finished putting on the last of her clothes. She smooths down the hairs that stick up precariously and lets her fingers linger on Laura's shoulder.

"If I tell you, I'm afraid you won't be able to walk out that door," she says slyly, shooting a quick bemused glance.

"That can be taken in a lot of different ways, Carm," Laura smiles and shifts from one foot to another. She knows in her heart that she doesn't want to leave, but her workaholic brain is shouting at her to get to her office as soon as she can. 

"You know what I mean." Carmilla bites her lower lip in contemplation, but then decides to just go for it. "Do you want to go out again?"

"I'd love to," Laura answers almost immediately, her eyes lighting up. "I'm booked from now until Friday, though."

"Friday works for me," Carmilla smiles, already thinking about how their next date is going to go.

Laura gives her one last kiss on her cheek before she turns and walks through the doors.

Later, when Carmilla is sitting down with one of her floor managers, she sees Laura sitting in her office. Their eyes lock and they share a heated glace before they both go back to their jobs.

 

\--

 

It's a foggy Friday morning and Carmilla is surprised by how much she misses being able to look over at Laura whenever she wanted. She knows Laura feels the same, if the increase in the number of texts she's receiving is anything to go by. Her phone buzzes again and she immediately picks it up, shrugging off the paperwork that's stacked on her desk.

This whole week has been full of paperwork and Theo Straka -- two of the things she hates most in this world. Like most days, the only thing that got her through was Laura. Memories of them together in her office replay on a constant loop in her head, distracting her during meetings and most definitely in the middle of the night when she's supposed to be sleeping.

 **Laura** : This fog is  _killing_ me :(

 **Carmilla** : maybe mother nature hates you

 **Laura** : lol me? what about you!

 **Carmilla** : I happen to enjoy the fog.

 **Laura** : what if I told you I was naked in my office right now?

 **Carmilla** : ...I'm enjoying the fog slightly less.

 **Laura** : you wish ;)

 **Carmilla** : don't we all, cupcake.

Over the past week they've met for lunch a few times and teased each other  over the phone constantly. Yesterday they came close to a repeat of what happened the day they first started talking, but they've yet to cross that line twice. It's not that Carmilla doesn't want to, it's just that she wants to get to know Laura more. Admittedly, with the way Laura has been teasing her relentlessly all week she's pretty sure she's about ready to take whatever she can get from her.

 **Laura** : I called my landlord earlier.

 **Laura** :   _img.jpeg_14202_

A picture pops up of Laura holding a key so close to her face that her eyes are crossed. Carmilla laughs at Laura's silliness and the fact that she managed to break her key in someone else's door. She's definitely never going to live that one down. 

 **Carmilla** : don't break this one, cutie

 **Laura** : I think I'd die from embarrassment :'(

Carmilla glances at the pile of paperwork on her desk and then to the gray slog outside her window. All she can see is a faint outline of the building across the street. She can't take this anymore.

 **Carmilla** : do you want to go test that key out now?

 **Laura** : Carmilla Karnstein, are you asking what I think you're asking?

The brunette's fingers fly over her keyboard to type out a witty and suggestive response, but everything she types out doesn't sound right. 'I can think of more fun things to do than stare at a foggy window,' no. 'why don't we test your bed out too?' oh god no. Maybe right now isn't the time for her usual. Even though her fingers are reluctant, she types out the message anyway and hits send before she can second guess herself.

 **Carmilla** : I miss you

 **Laura** : I miss you too

Those four words lift a huge weight off her shoulders. Before she can respond, Laura's already sent another text.

 **Laura** : Meet me in front of your building.

 **Carmilla** : see you

She stands and marches out the door with her phone in hand, quickly telling JP that she'll be gone for a couple hours. The elevator doors close before JP can ask why she's leaving.


End file.
